An annotated selection of news stories from mainstream sources illustrating the contention that meat-eating and its attendant animal-destroying culture is unhealthy, unethical, undesirable and unlikely to prevail for much longer.

Friday, February 20

THIS WEEK'S MAD COW ROUNDUP

Well, I've finished reading Tom Ellestad's affidavit (PDF), and there can be no doubt in anyone's mind who's gone through all of that evidence that, not only was the Mad Cow not a downer, but the USDA knew so from day one. In fact, Ellestad said so in print, if we'd been paying attention:

Federal officials have described the cow in question as a "downer" animal, meaning that it was unable to walk, which raises questions about whether it should have been slaughtered and put into the food supply. But Ellestad remembers seeing the animal. "It was not a downer cow," he said, trying to hold back his anger. "I saw it walking." Ellestad said that his slaughterhouse has a policy of refusing to slaughter cows that look too sick or injured. "There are some animals that we will not accept," he said. "This cow looked relatively healthy. I saw her up and walking." (Washington Post, Dec. 24, 2003)

A fearmongering TV station tries to nail down the other end of the equation: Horrifying Illness Killing At Higher Rate In Washington! Omigod! That's the smoking gun! Except... after a couple heart-rending anecdotes, here's the evidence: "[CJD] only happens to about one in a million people. But our investigation shows CJD is killing people at a much higher rate in Washington State: 35 deaths between 1997-2003. That's in a state with less than 6 million people." Riiiiight. So, 1 per million per year is six, times six years is... 36 deaths. Huh? Where's the beef?

And finally, "three state Senate committees have asked [California] Department of Health officials to explain why they signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Agriculture that prevents public access to details of beef recalls. Dr. Stanley Prusiner, the Nobel Prize winner who explained what causes mad cow, is scheduled to speak at the 9:30 a.m. Tuesday hearing at the Capitol." Get this, though: No USDA representative will attend the hearing because it conflicts with another mad cow hearing in Washington, D.C., department officials said." Boy, Tuesday's gonna be a big day, huh?